Ternosky's MVP Award No Surprise to Saints

Jake Ternosky (22) lost just 13
faceoffs during the entire Conference Carolinas schedule, prompting
the league coaches to name him the conference MVP over the likes of
prolific scorers Riley Loewen and Shayne Jackson. The Saints agree
completely with the decision, as they understand that having the
ball is the key to Limestone's success.

As the rest of the team went through drills and schemes in
preparation for Saturday's game against Le Moyne in the NCAA
Division II semifinal on the rain-soaked Limestone practice field,
there was Jake Ternosky, taking faceoff after faceoff, honing his
craft.

Saints coach J.B. Clarke would occasionally call Ternosky over
for certain activities, where he joined the likes of prolific
scorers Shayne Jackson, Riley Loewen and Jackson Decker, who have
become the face of this Limestone team. But Ternosky always
returned to spot on the side of the field where he would toil in
anonymity.

Don't let the visuals fool you. Ternosky is the most important
player for the Saints this season. Everyone on the team knows
it.

Everyone in Conference Carolinas, Limestone's league,
understands what the OCC transfer means to the Saints machine, as
well.

"Quite frankly, I had nominated the two attackmen because they
won it last year," said Clarke of putting Jackson and Loewen up for
the league MVP consideration. "We got into the room and I think the
conference coaches did a good job communicating. It was the other
guys who said, 'Those two guys are incredible, but the numbers
Ternosky has in conference are unmatched.'"

Ternosky finished with an overall faceoff winning percentage of
69.6 (217-for-312), but in Conference Carolinas competition, he
lost just 13 faceoffs in the five games, posting a 82.7 winning
percentage (62-for-75). The other coaches in the league realized
that Ternosky was the conduit between the ball and the
Saints deadly scorers.

And so did the scorers, themselves.

"I wasn't surprised at all. He deserved it," said Loewen, who
finished the regular season with 46 goals and 19 assists. "We value
possessions so much on this team and its something we kind of
struggled with last year. He's just been unbelievable getting the
ball and giving me, Shayne and the offense chances."

Ternosky admits that getting the MVP award was unexpected.

"I was very surprised," he said. "I thought if anything, those
guys should have got it more than me. My trade is different than
theirs. They have sick lefty rips and all that. They score a ton. I
definitely didn't see it coming. I would have given it to the team
more than myself."

"I think it was a surprise to Jake, but the good thing was that
everyone was happy for him," said Clarke. "Our team recognizes the
value of having the ball, especially against teams that are trying
to slow us down."

If Clarke had been asked about Ternosky's chances of being the
league MVP earlier in the year, he might not have been sold on the
possibility.

"He really didn't have a very good fall and early in the spring
things weren't clicking, but he's a rep guy, so we give him a lot
of reps during the week," Clarke said. "I saw him at practice late
in the year at OCC and I was impressed by the way he was going
about working on his trade, literally punishing himself if he went
too early on a faceoff or things like that."

"It was just me getting better over the summer and putting work
in," Ternosky said.

It means a lot to Ternosky that his team appreciates his efforts
– "They all said that I deserved it and I was humbled by
that," he said – but he knows that he was brought it for one
reason, and that's to perform in the postseason. A substandard
performance in the NCAA tournament and all of the awards don't mean
much.

"I'm ready for them," said Ternosky of the Le Moyne faceoff
unit. "I've been looking over the numbers for weeks and checking
out film. I've memorized them pretty well."

And with that, Ternosky turned and walked back to his area of
the field, getting in a couple more reps.